


When It Comes To Dreams Of You

by darlingsdream



Series: a mixer of klance one shots [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, College Student Keith (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Keith and Lance are soulmates, M/M, POV Keith (Voltron), Pining Keith (Voltron), Soulmarks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-23 17:37:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21085238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlingsdream/pseuds/darlingsdream
Summary: Keith, for the longest time, couldn’t recall ever having a dream. He heard of others around him talking about their odd recurring dreams and always wondered what exactly a dream was to them. Within his past eighteen years, he couldn’t recall a single dream. It was alarming to him to some level, but he never found an appropriate time to talk to someone about the issue.But, suddenly, he had dreams.





	When It Comes To Dreams Of You

**Author's Note:**

> originally, this was made for au august last year as i worked on my writing abilities. i plan on re-making this idea, but much longer and much more drawn out!

Keith, for the longest time, couldn’t recall ever having a dream. He heard of others around him talking about their odd recurring dreams and always wondered what exactly a dream was to them. Within his past eighteen years, he couldn’t recall a single dream. It was alarming to him to some level, but he never found an appropriate time to talk to someone about the  _ issue _ .

At the current moment, Keith found himself confused. One moment, he was laying in bed watching the stars through the skylight, and the next all he could hear was the pounding of waves on the shore and giggles.

Everything was dark. He could tell his eyes were opened but no matter how many times he blinked, it was still black. Panic was rising quickly in his chest as he began turning his head around him for any source of light.

Children’s giggles were echoing in his ears like chime bells. They sounded carefree and happy, unlike the forced laughs he could remember from the tense foster homes. He could tell just from their laughter that they must have been smiling.

Rubbing his fingers against his palms, he tried to steady his breaths. Nothing like this had ever happened before.

_ “Veronica, wait!” _

A young boy’s voice pierced through Keith’s ears like a gunshot. His breath was caught in his throat, chest tightening. His entire body went stiff and rigid as an unsettling warmth spread through his chest.

_ “It’s not my fault you have short legs, Leandro!” _

A young feminine voice echoed around him. It wasn’t as clear or as loud as the young boy’s, that was for sure. The most distinctive thing about both of their voices was that they had accents. The way they drew out their vowels and rolled their Rs was a distinctive key sign.

Like a blinding light, everything around Keith lit up like a Christmas tree. Squinting and bringing his hands in front of his face, he realized he was standing barefoot in the sand, still in jeans and now an unfamiliar tank top.

_ “Mamá says my legs are just fine!” _

Turning around, Keith noticed the two kids running across the sand toward him. The girl was first, but to him, she seemed blurry and transparent. He swallowed roughly, squinting even more to try and focus on the girl.

From what he could pick apart, the girl had dark curly brown hair, her skin a terra-cotta color. She was smiling widely, her piercing blue eyes being the only feature of her that Keith could clearly make out. She was wearing a blue and white striped dress, barefoot as she speed through the sand.

Keith watched in fear as she flew past him, almost like a ghost. She didn’t even spare him a glance as she ran not even a foot in front of him.

Behind her, a young boy was speeding after her. Keith could quite clearly make out his appearance. He wasn’t blurry and transparent like the girl, not even close.

He was  _ very _ short, looking to be around five or six. He had a slim build, wide shoulders, and short dark brown curly hair. His eyes were the same piercing baby blue as the girl’s, his skin a warm tawny color.

As he ran in front of Keith, he felt everything slow down. He was at least three feet shorter than Keith, caught slowly between a running step. His eyes were fierce, filled with determinedness, his tongue peaking out from his lips just slightly.

Almost like a click of a button, the boy continued running fast past him, kicking sand up at Keith as he did.

Keith stood in shock for a second, trying to slow his breathing. It felt like he was running a marathon even though he hadn’t moved an inch. His eyes kept trained on the young boy. Every other figure was blurry and transparent, like a beach filled of ghosts.

The girl turned, now barreling down toward the water. The little boy chased after her without hesitation, a daring smirk plastered across his face.

As the girl stopped where the water licked at the sand, the boy ran in front of her, kicking cold water at her as he dove into the water.

All at once, Keith felt a mix of emotions rush over him like a wave.

An underlying feeling of confusion was replaced with adrenaline, the feeling of pure excitement and joy. His shoulders went cold, like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head.

When the boy resurfaced a few feet out into the ocean, Keith watched carefully as the boy paused, head snapping in his direction.

They made eye contact. He knew they did.

The boy’s face lit with alarm.

Keith felt his entire body burn, heart speeding as the boy’s eyes widened with horror.

The boy started screaming in an unfamiliar language, head snapping toward the girl he was chasing before.

Everything went black at that moment. Keith felt his legs giveaway and all of a sudden, he was falling into blackness. A heavy scream ripped from his throat, causing it to burn as he thrashed around in the cold dark abyss.

It felt like hours that he was screaming and falling. Hours of staring into the darkness with confusion and scaredness.

It wasn’t until two freezing cold hands wrapped around his wrists that he opened his eyes. His hands were in front of his face, two hands wrapped around his wrists harshly.

It took him a second to recognize the face hovering above him. 

“Holy shit, Keith, what the  _ fuck _ was that?”

Keith’s entire body felt cool again. He stared quietly at the face in front of him, feeling dazed and out of it.

“Keith? Keith, hello? You’re worrying me, are you okay?”

Keith knew something was wrong. He could feel it around him. He felt his eyes wander around the room for a moment. He attempted to swallow, but it burned. His wrists were dropped and his hands fell limp onto his chest.

“Keith, I’m two seconds away from calling an ambulance.”

His eyes closed without his permission. His heart was still pounding and he could hear his heartbeat in his ears.

_ A dream _ .

That’s all that rang through his head as he remembered the girl running past him, now in clear vision. He remembered the boy as well, but not the name.

“Takashi?” Keith groaned out, eyes snapping open as he sat up.

The figure beside his bed nodded. “Okay, you’re fine- what’s wrong?”

“Is it possible for people in your dreams to talk in another language if you don’t even know said language?”

_ “What the fuck do you mean?” _

The second Shiro left the room, Keith was pushing his blankets off him, rushing over to his desk. He grabbed the first sharpie he got his hands on, running over to his calendar. Finding the current date, he circled it several times.

That was his first dream, and he remembered every single detail of it, excluding the names.

* * *

The next time it happened, it was three weeks later. He was sitting on Shiro’s boyfriend's couch, the couple sitting on the floor in their blanket pile in front of him. They were watching a cheesy romance movie, which, Keith hadn’t been paying attention to.

One moment, he was blinking tiredly at the television. The sound of rain was echoing in the back of his head, slowly getting louder and louder.

Like a switch had been clicked, everything went black. The sound of rain was loud around him, echoing off something metal.

_ “You’re going to get wet if you hang out the window like that, Leandro.” _

Leandro was the familiar name he remembered hearing from his past dream. Turning around in the darkness, he waited.

_ “Whatever you say, Marco.” _

The voice was familiar, but different at the same time. The world lit up around him. The next thing Keith knew, he was standing in a crowded and messy living room, staring right at a couch.

Sitting on the couch with his head stuck out the open window was the same boy Keith saw in his last dream. This time though, he seemed bigger, older, and had longer hair.

The only way he was recognizable was from his profile as he turned his head over his shoulder and frowned at something behind Keith.

Turning slightly, Keith noted the fuzzy figure sitting on the floor behind him, working on what looked like a puzzle.

_ “Mom won’t be happy if you get the couch wet again.” _

The girl’s voice rang in his head like a distant echo. Turning the other way, he noticed the girl standing with a tray. He could barely make her out, seeing as she was blurry and transparent once again.

She looked like the young girl from the beach, only several years older.

_ “I’m not going to get the couch wet, Veronica. Just leave already, you’re going to be late to pick up Rosa.” _

His voice was quieter, almost depressing. Keith felt his heart drop, and all of a sudden, he was filled with sadness. A deep sadness that caused his heart to physically  _ hurt. _ The only time he felt like this was when his dog Scooter disappeared in the middle of the desert.

It was silent in the room, the feeling of tenseness not dropping.

Keith watched slowly as the boy on the couch leaned closer toward the window, quiet as he tilted his head up to watch the rain drip down. He felt his internal sadness. That was all Keith could think of as he took a step closer to him. Something happened. Something bad and terrible.

Slowly, he made his way to sit on the couch beside Leandro. He didn’t move, flinch, or spare a glance at him. Keith stared quietly at his expression. His eyes were vacant, bags of dark blue circling his them. His bottom lip was jutted out slightly, and his hair was roughed up.

Taking a guess, Keith would say he looked around twelve now.

The silent pitter-patter of feet caught his attention through the pounding rain. Turning toward the center of the living room, he caught sight of a young toddler. He looked like a phantom of a person as he waddled over toward the couch. He looked a lot like Leandro, except younger.

Keith smiled softly as he watched the young child come up behind Leandro, arms extended. The next moment, he watched as the kid tripped over his own feet, hands smacking against Leandro’s legs.

Everything happened so quickly, Keith didn’t even have time to react.

Leandro screamed, turned as he lost his grip on the wet window. The next thing he knew, the kid was falling headfirst out the window.

It was silent for a moment. Keith was staring at the empty couch now in shock, utterly terrified.

A language unfamiliar to him was shouted everywhere. Somewhere outside as well as somewhere far inside. Slowly leaning over the couch on his knees, Keith peered over the window.

Laying face forward in one of the biggest bushes Keith had ever seen was the kid. He was quiet, arms swaying in front of him as he spit out parts of the bush.

Without even thinking, Keith snickered. An unfamiliar sound to him.

He watched as the kid tried to move in the bush, desperately moving his arms. To no avail, nothing worked and he stayed face forward in the bush. The couch beside him moved as a kid sat beside him, peeking over the window. He was shouting in another language, which, Keith could only guess was Spanish at this point.

Leandro groaned, responding in a deeper and exasperated tone.

_ Definitely Spanish. _

At this point, Keith was laughing full-heartedly, staring down at the helpless boy. He laughed so hard that his shoulders were joisteling and tears were trickling down his cheeks.

_ How does this even happen to people? _

Keith was still laughing as Leandro managed to roll over in the bush. He was soaking wet, eyes filled with tiredness as he looked up at the window.

Again, they made eye contact. Keith was still laughing.

The sadness disappeared with an unfamiliar warmth. Leandro started laughing, falling deeper into the bush.

Like that, everything went black, and Keith felt like he was falling.

This time, he wasn’t scared. He felt content and relieved, still laughing slightly. He brought his hands up to wipe the tears from his eyes.

When he opened them again, two faces were staring down at him in alarm.

“Are you okay, Keith?” Shiro automatically questioned, looking very alarmed.

“Yes?” Keith responded slowly, raising an eyebrow.

His boyfriend, Adam, had his phone to his ear. He looked over at Shiro for a moment, then back to Keith. “No, he’s responding now, sir.”

Keith stared at them for a moment. Everything was a little blurry, and he felt out of it for sure. Rolling his head over to the side, he replayed how the boy fell out the window.

An uncontrolled laugh escaped him before his eyes closed again.

* * *

When he opened his eyes again, Keith was laying in an unfamiliar white bed. It was quiet around him, excluding the beeping from somewhere behind him.

Sitting up quickly, Keith stared down at the tub attached to his inner elbow. Panic immediately struck him as he looked around the room.

“Woah, woah, it’s okay Keith, just calm down,” Shiro’s voice immediately welcomed him. Turning over to the side, he saw Shiro and Adam sitting together on one of the waiting chairs.

“Why are we in the hospital?” He simply asked, eyebrows pinched together tightly. Shiro just smiled, shaking his head.

“Adam got freaked out when you passed out earlier and started laughing. We couldn’t get you to respond, so he called 911. When you were responsive again, you just passed out and became really really cold. The doctors said you’re fine now, but, they want to ask you a few questions. That’s it.”

“Okay...” Keith mumbled in response, slowly laying back down in the bed. “Sorry for scaring you guys. I feel fine?”

“Don’t sweat it, Keith,” Adam smiled, standing up. He leaned over the bed, hand resting on Keith’s arm. “One of my old friends has something similar happen to her way back. It was ten times worse though. Turns out, it was just her soulmark!”

_ Soulmark. _ Keith allowed the word to echo in his head for a moment.

A soulmark was something  _ soulmates _ had. Soulmates were not uncommon, but not having one was more common. Somewhere deep inside him, Keith hoped he didn’t have a soulmate.

His soulmate didn’t deserve someone like him. Someone who has so much  _ shit _ on his shoulders. He wouldn’t even know where to start explaining why he’s so  _ fucked _ .

A breathy “oh” escaped him before he flinched away from Adams’s touch, eyes wide. “Oh.”

* * *

“Do episodes like this happen often?”

The nurse sitting beside his bed looked up from her chart, blue eyes filled with curiosity. A nametag labeled “Romelle” was pinned to her right sleeve, her blonde hair put up in a full braid wrap.

“From what I could remember, it’s only happened twice,” Keith responded slowly, watching as she quickly checked something off.

“And can you tell me how these  _ episodes _ usually start?”

Pausing, Keith took a moment to recall how they began. “They both have happened before I go to sleep.” Was all he provided her.

She hummed and nodded in response.

“Would you specify them as  _ dreams _ ?”

Keith simply shrugged. “I don’t recall ever having dreams, like,  _ ever _ . The first one I could ever say I had was when this happened for the first time.”

She nodded once again.

“Keith, you understand that there are soulmarks where you can see your soulmates memories through your dreams, right?”

_ His heart shattered. _

* * *

The  _ dreams _ from then on almost happened nightly. Each night, continuing off somewhere randomly. Part of him felt guilty. An unimaginable amount of guilt. Whoever his soulmate was had to watch  _ his _ memories during his dreams.

Keith didn’t have  _ any _ happy memories from the age of seven to sixteen. They were all mostly very, very dark. His life started getting better once he met Takashi Shirogane through the big brothers and sisters program at his foster care facility.

He could only imagine what this seemingly sweet boy has seen so far.

During the past two months, he had gathered a lot of information about Leandro Andrew McClain.

From what he could tell, he lived somewhere in Cuba, a house right off the beach.

He had a  _ huge _ family. Each time he saw them, he felt his stomach double over. One day, he knew he’d meet them. Leandro seemed very familiar oriented.

Most of what Keith saw were good, happy memories. Memories at the beach, or visiting the United States. Memories of a large family, happy and together.

Then, there were the occasional memories of heartbreak, deaths, and insecurities.

Leandro McClain hid a lot of things. He was very insecure but so  _ so _ loving.

Keith would be lying if he said he didn’t already love him. 

* * *

Eyes snapping open, Keith found himself wrapped in a heated blanket on the couch. Shiro was sitting at the other end of the couch, tapping his feet as he watched the television with an uneasy gaze.

“Good morning,” Keith mumbled, eyes moving up to wipe his eyes of the tiredness.

Shiro flinched, turning to meet eyes with Keith.

“You know, this whole  _ soulmate _ shit with you is driving me up the fucking wall,” Shiro laughed, scratching his neck. “Why couldn’t you have some normal type of soulmark, like, I don’t know! Being able to write on your skin to communicate or hear each other’s voices in your head-”

“Oh God,” Keith began  _ laughing _ , shaking his head. “Thank the lord I didn’t get that soulmark. I don’t think he would ever shut up.”

Shiro paused, eyes softening.

The memory he went through last night, Leandro he was seventeen, and his little sister had shaved his entire head. When he woke up, he was a sobbing mess grasping at his bald head.

Keith hadn’t laughed that hard in so long.

“I can’t wait for you to meet him,” Shiro blurted out, slumping over.

Keith stiffened, eyes going cold. “What do you mean by  _ that _ ?”

He laughed, shrugging. “I didn’t mean it as a bad thing. It’s just- since you started having these dreams, you seem a bit happier. More excited and lively, I guess? Whenever you talk about him, you seem so happy.”

Keith nodded in response, a ghost of a smile still on his lips.

“I didn’t think the universe would give me a soulmate- you know?” He started, adverting his eyes. “I just- I’ve had such a shitty past as it is. I feel like- whatever  _ they _ see as memories about me must terrify them. And- yeah, I’m kind of scared to meet them. What if I’m not what they want? They seem so happy and so outgoing-”

“The universe doesn’t make mistakes about stuff like this, Keith.” Reaching out, Shiro grabbed his arm. “He’s lucky, whoever he is.”

* * *

Keith was sitting at a packed table with about twenty or thirty people. The only person he could make out was the one sitting at the end of the table with a grin-filled smile.

Behind him was a large sign.

“Happy Eighteen Leandro, May America Treat You Well!” Was written in neat cursive, in Spanish, of course. Keith, after only a week of the recurring memories, began learning Spanish. He couldn’t just go through these memories without knowing the language, seeing as it was his soulmate’s native language.

Keith smiled, wide.

_ He’s coming to America, _ he thought, watching carefully as Leandro smiled even brighter at the rest of his family.

_ I’m going to meet him soon. _

The last time Keith saw Leandro’s face was when he was engulfed in a hug by Veronica. He sighed, rolling his eyes before looking across the table. They made eye contact, a recurring thing that would happen before everything went black around Keith.

He didn’t have another dream since then.

It’s been weeks.

* * *

“Why do you look like you’re about to literally combust?” Pidge questioned from beside him. Keith shrugged in response, pocketing his phone.

“School, social interaction, the fact you’re literally dragging me to a fucking  _ Cafe. _ You know, the usual things that make me want to combust,” Keith responded wittily. Pidge snorted, shoving an elbow into Keith’s side. 

“Whatever, you need the interaction.”

“Sure.”

The two continued walking down the campus side-walk in silence.

Keith felt himself getting warmer and warmer, despite the fact it was almost freezing today and he was wearing a short-sleeve shirt.

“Oh, I forgot to mention, I invited a few of my friends to come along,” Pidge whispered.

“Uh-huh, forgot to mention, sure.” Keigh sighed, rolling his eyes. He folded his arms across his chest, hands clenching uneasily.

“Well excuse me for wanting to introduce you to new people before we’re given dorms and stuff! You’re going to be lonely in college if you don’t!”

“I’m not going to be lonely, I’ve always been alone, I’m fine with it.” 

Silence.

Pidge ducked her head down as they continued walking. They were only a block away now from the Cafe, and Keith was ready to heal over and die from how hot he was getting.

“Pidge, is it just me, or is it burning hot outside today?”

Pidge paused halfway through her step, turning over to look at Keith with perplexity. “What do you mean?”

Keith paused too, touching his forehead. He wasn’t sweating. “I feel like I’m burning inside, but, I’m not sweaty or out of breath?”

Within seconds, Pidge’s eyes were basically popping out of her skull. She stayed quiet for a moment, eyes trained forward. “You’re probably just getting sick,” she brushed off, hand digging into her back pocket for her phone. “Anyway, we should probably hurry up, ya know, don’t wanna be late or anything.”

Nodding, Keith continued walking forward. As they rounded the corner, he could feel his skin buzzing. At this point, he literally wanted to rip his skin off.

Down the street, Keith noticed the green and brick building. Turning around, he met eye and eye with Pidge, managing to walk backward. “Is this the place?” He questioned, eyebrows raised.

She simply nodded, eyes ahead but phone angled upward.

If Keith had turned, he would have noticed the two people rounding the corner on the other side of the Cafe.

Pidge looked up fully now, phone still slightly angled upward. “Hunk, Lance, hey!” She shouted, waving a hand above her head.

The two names were familiar to Keith. Pidge and Keith had been friends since he could remember, thanks to their brothers being best friends. Pidge frequently talked about Hunk, her friend from summer camp since second grade, and Lance, their international friend from a program, at their old high school.

Keith continued walking backward for a few more seconds, already dreading his decision to come with Pidge today.

He sighed in defeat, ready to turn around, that was before he heard one of the largest gasps  _ ever _ and several books dropped.

He stopped, basically jumping out of his burning skin.

_ “Akira!” _

Keith’s soul almost jumped out of his body at that very second. His stomach was pooling with a sea of emotions.

He knew that voice.

And that was his birth name.

“Lance? No- that’s Keith!” Pidge shouted back from beside him. Rigid and almost terrified, Keith turned his head over to Pidge. Her eyebrows were pinched together, her phone held up now. “You know?  _ Keith _ \- my childhood best friend?”

All of a sudden, Keith felt his stomach lunging forward.

_ “Akira?” _

Almost like a spinning top, Keith turned so quick he could have sworn he had given himself whiplash.

Standing just feet away in front of the Cafe was one  _ very _ familiar boy and one very  _ unfamiliar  _ boy. Keith’s eyes were trained on the familiar one. Dark caramel skin, tall and lanky build, wide shoulders, and piercing blue eyes.

His heart was set on fire.

_ That’s my soulmate. _

“Leandro!” Keith  _ screamed _ , hands shaking.

The two stood and stared at each other. Everything around them was quiet and tense.

“Lance?” The boy beside him reached over, ready to grab his arm, but in a second flat, he was lunging forward at Keith, stepping over the dropped books.

Without hesitation, Keith surged forward, arms open wide.

When the two quite literally ran into each other, Lance collected Keith in his arms, tears streaming down his face.

“Oh my God,” he mumbled, resting his chin onto Keith’s shoulder. A sigh of contentment escaped Keith as he rested his forehead against Lance’s shoulder.  “Oh my God,” Lance sobbed, holding Keith closer to him. Keith, in return, with shaky hands, rubbed circles on his back.

The two were shaking, both with tears in their eyes.

When the two pulled apart slowly, Lance cupped the sides of Keith’s face, startling him. But his touch was soft and gentle, so soft that it made Keith want to melt right then and there.

“You’re real,” Lance smiled so hard, tears still streaming down his cheeks. Keith simply nodded, sniffling.

“Yeah- yeah, I am,” he chuckled out dryly, hands shaking as he brought them up to grasp at his arms.

“Fuck,” Lance whispered, simply staring into Keith’s eyes. “The last memory I got from you was you in the fucking hospital, and I lost my cool after because I thought something was wrong- but then I saw you cut your thumb from playing with your knife.”

Keith  _ laughed _ . Full heartedly laughed as Lance’s soft fingers wiped away the tears from his cheeks.

“The last memory I got from you was at your eighteenth birthday party, when everyone was celebrating you getting into college,” Keith sighed, smiling not once breaking.

“Oh my- I knew it, I knew you were there!” He shouted, pulling away. He turned around, staring at the other boy Keith had not yet met.

The second they parted, Keith brought his hands to his face, turning from Pidge. He was shaking and he couldn’t stop crying.

“I told you, Hunk! I told you I wasn’t lying when my soulmate was the cutest boy ever!”

Keith’s cheeks lit on fire at that comment.

“Pidge- you owe me twenty dollars! I told you I saw you in one of the dreams!”

“Oh my God,” Pidge croaked. “You two- of all people- are soulmates-” She paused. Then, a high pitched scream escaped her.

Keith tore his hands away from his face, making sure to wipe whatever tears he could off his face.

“You two lied about your birth names!” Pidge screamed, eyes wide. “I knew you both were hiding something!”

“In all fairness, my real name sounds like something from an anime!” Keith shouted back.

“No one can pronounce my name correctly here, so, I used the American version of it- but it looks like  _ someone _ can!”

Lance turned, smile bright. Tears were still rolling down his cheeks.

Keith nodded sheepishly. “I didn’t learn Spanish this summer for nothing!”


End file.
